“Not a single white person should be allowed to go under”: Swartgevaar and the origins of South Africa’s welfare state, 1924-1929

South Africa developed, during the course of the twentieth century, an exceptional welfare system based on social assistance rather than social insurance, and focused especially on old-age pensions.&nbsp; The origins of South Africa’s welfare state lay in the 1920s, not in the 1930s as has generally been suggested.&nbsp; This paper examines the process leading to the 1928 Old Age Pensions Act, paying particular attention to the 1926-28 Pienaar Commission on Old Age Pensions and National Insurance.&nbsp; The introduction of old age pensions enjoyed the support of all parties representing white and coloured voters in Parliament, but for diverse reasons.&nbsp; For the National Party and Labour Party – partners in the coalition Pact Government of 1924-29 – non-contributory old-age pensions were a crucial pillar in the ‘civilised labour’ policies designed to lift ‘poor whites’ out of poverty and re-establish a clear racial hierarchy.&nbsp; Welfare reform was thus, in significant part, a response to the ‘swartgevaar’ or menace of black physical, occupational and social mobility.&nbsp; The choice of a system of tax-financed social assistance, in preference to a system of social insurance financed out of contributions by employers and workers, was due to a combination of factors: the perceived need to provide immediate redress against poverty and unemployment (motivating the National Party); the powerful influence of left and liberal thinking from Britain, Australia and New Zealand (on both bureaucrats and the Labour Party); a concern that contributory schemes would add to much to the costs of production (among employers and workers alike); and a worry about the racial coverage of contributory schemes.

Reference:

Seekings, J. (2007). ‘Not a single white person should be allowed to go under’: swartgevaar and the origins of South Africa's welfare state, 1924–1929. Centre for Social Science Research, University of Cape Town